Photos: Big Apple Scenes

Click to view slideshow

Steve Garbarino on Lunch Break has an insider's guide to New York, with tips from Chloe Sevigny, Gabrielle Hamilton, Gay Talese and Sean Avery.

IF IT'S BEEN a while since you taxied from JFK to the island of Manhattan, bridging toward that dramatic Batman skyline, you may find yourself feeling as disoriented as a hubcap wobbling down the street in every wrong direction.

In the last decade, the city that always (and somehow never) changes has shuffled itself all around. Notorious urban tundras are now upscale shopping zones. Areas that were once synonymous with exclusivity have given ground to mass-market chains.

The Bowery—formerly a desolation boulevard of men's shelters, graffiti-spattered music clubs and restaurant suppliers—is now home to some of the city's haute-est hotels, cafes and designer outposts. CBGB has become a John Varvatos boutique. The scenic, circa-1830s New York Marble Cemetery—its decrepit walls etched with names of prominent citizens of yore—is now abutted by the four-year-old Bowery Hotel's shab-ulous lounge. The Meatpacking District—for years awash in the stench of slaughterhouses—has become the new SoHo. Where once were subterranean sex clubs, there's La Perla and Alexander McQueen. If Lou Reed's night crawlers walked the "wild side" today, they'd be hauled away faster than those new Intermix and AllSaints Spitalfields outposts sprang up.

In Midtown, "Ratso" ("I'm wawkin' heah!") Rizzo wouldn't have to worry about being clipped by a cab, thanks to Mayor Bloomberg's bike-path-happy administration: Times Square is now a pedestrian-friendly rest station aglow with jumbo LED screens, the Great White Way's new marquees. Harlem has cockadoodled to Red Rooster, one of the best and most abuzz restaurants in the entire metropolis. And not so quietly, Brooklyn has become the gastronauts' port of call (Prime Meats, Roberta's, Vinegar Hill House).

Even Wall Street, where the site of the beloved Twin Towers is being reimagined, has taken an unexpected turn—instead of wall-to-wall banks and electronics shops, it's home to luxury high-rises, leafy squares, specialty shops and boutique inns.

Sure, the city's too clean, too green, too smoke-free, for some native tastes. It's more expensive than ever to live here, but there's a reason—make that many—that those little town blues are melting away. Again.

—Steve Garbarino

The Star: Chloë Sevigny

Curio Shop // Obscura Antiques & Oddities. The very first thing I bought in this East Village store was a taxidermied duckling. I was raised Catholic, so I'm a sucker for religious icons, like the last rites set I found there. 280 E. 10th St., obscuraantiques.com

Meditative Meal // Omen. I've been going to this Japanese restaurant in SoHo since I started making money. Even though it gets a big fashion and art-world crowd, it always has a Zen vibe. It's my sanctuary, even on weekend nights. I get the black cod. 113 Thompson St., 212-925-8923

Ukrainian Eats // Veselka. I go almost every day to this East Village classic, open since 1954. It's my home-cooking spot. I understand why Patti Smith said it would be where she'd have her last meal. 144 Second Ave., veselka.com

Men's Bespoke // L&S Custom Tailors. For over 35 years, this tailoring salon has been a master at alterations, repairs and creative patching-up on cherished garments. Salvatore Cristiano also makes suits, shirts, top coats. 138 E. 61st St., lstailors.com

Martini Stop // Café Loup. I like this downtown French bistro because it serves martinis at the table in the shaker. You thus get full measure, and the waiter doesn't spill drops of valuable gin on the floor while walking it to you. 105 W. 13th St., cafeloupnyc.com

Sole Connection // Vincent & Edgar. They make handcrafted shoes and boots that are very expensive but objects of beauty. The artist is Roman Vaingauz; his dad and grandfather were also bootmakers. By appointment only, 972 Lexington Ave., 212-753-3461

The Chef: Gabrielle Hamilton

James Beard Award-winning chef/owner of Prune and author of "Blood, Bones & Butter"

ENLARGE

Gabrielle Hamilton

Power Breakfast // Balthazar. An 8:30 a.m. breakfast at Keith McNally's SoHo bistro is one of my all-time favorite Manhattan experiences. Don't go after 10 a.m., when it's filled with out-of-towners and skinny movie stars. I order a big creamy bowl of café au lait when the place is peppered with discreet, big-deal New Yorkers. 80 Spring St., balthazarny.com

Home Goods Haven // John Derian Company. With its furniture, plates, ceramic objects, cutlery and glassware, I wish I could just move my bed and stove in and call it home. 6 E. Second St., johnderian.com

Classic Cocktail // King Cole Bar at the St. Regis New York. Here a fine old-school barman will give you a nice gin pour and crack open your own bottle of cold tonic. Enjoy the Max Parrish mural, said to depict Old King Cole passing wind! 2 E. 55th St., kingcolebar.com

The Player: Sean Avery

Sweat Lodge // Russian & Turkish Baths. Don't be intimidated by the pushy Russians insisting you receive spa treatment at this East Village institution. It's been doing this since 1892. Bring your own sandals and shorts, and a friend. Hit the sauna room and sweat, sweat, sweat. You'll never feel better. One-day admission is $35. 268 E. 10th St., russianturkishbaths.com

Book Nook // OHWOW. The tiny space is a visual-books shop and gallery with a book club down below street level. The interior design by Rafael de Cárdenas lives up to its name: Navajo patterns mixed with Art Deco-y splashes. I recently bought an art piece by Lucien Smith there. 227 Waverly Place, oh-wow.com

Wheel Workout // SoulCycle Tribeca. Airy and light-filled with great music. Known for its indoor cycling workouts. You may even get to see Alec Baldwin in tights! 103 Warren St., soul-cycle.com

Sea Fare // Lure Fishbar. The interior is like someone's gorgeous private yacht. My favorite place to have raw oysters or dinner with friends. Porthole windows flash pedestrians' heels passing by up on the street. 142 Mercer St., lurefishbar.com

Craft Source // Loopy Mango. Knitting is my therapy, and this home goods boutique is where I buy hard-to-find yarns from all over the world. 78 Grand St., loopymango.com

Plus Don't Miss…

The High Line: The city's elevated park stuns with its Hudson views and concrete jungle walkways. // Grand Central Terminal: Hit the tony Campbell Apartment cocktail salon or the magnificent Oyster Bar before stepping onto the panoramic mezzanine to take it all in. // Crown: Chef John DeLucie transports his clubby downtown aesthetic uptown. // The Surrey: Café society lives on in this stunning Upper East Side hotel. // Brooklyn Academy of Music: Catch "Richard III" (starring Kevin Spacey, through March 4) or Rufus Wainwright's "Prima Donna" (opening Feb. 19) at the pre-eminent performing arts hub. // Kirna Zabete: From Celine to Proenza, a SoHo bastion of haute-couture offerings. // American Museum of Natural History: The wonders never cease.

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.